SHILLONG, June 15: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday denied allegations of any foodgrain scam and asserted that the state government has sought a report from the suppliers for transparency.
It was the second clarification from the chief minister in as many days.
“All these allegations about food items and fortified food indicating a scam are completely wrong,” he said, reacting to the reports of seizure of 1 lakh bags of rice of FCI Meghalaya from a warehouse in Assam.
He said the state government has sought a written report from the company and is awaiting a response from Assam police. He also clarified that the reports of seizure of 1 lakh bags were incorrect as there were 1,604 metric tonnes of rice, which only accounts for 33,000 bags.
The chief minister was categorical in asserting that the stock of rice is not part of NFSA or Covid relief given by the Centre.
“There is a confusion that this is Covid rice that is being diverted. I would like to clarify once again since some of the media are carrying that news. This is neither the rice from Food and Civil Supplies, nor meant for NFSA or for Covid relief. All the food stock for Covid and NFSA has already been received in advance for the entire month of June,” he said.
He said there is another allegation that the seized rice meant for children and nutritional products meant for mothers was lying in this warehouse. “This again is not correct,” he added.
“Continental Milkose Pvt Ltd, which is an approved manufacturing supplier of micronutrients and energy-dense fortified food under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) has been supplying to us in the last quarter or the first quarter of June. The complete supply of these micronutrient and energy-dense fortified foods has already been received,” Sangma said.
“Let me clarify that these micronutrient dense fortified foods are a mixture of different kinds of ingredients and rice is also part of it. It is a mix of different products including rice that is brought in,” he said.
“Now this rice also is sourced from FCI, so there is nothing incorrect when people say that this FCI rice was found. It is sourced from FCI and is processed and mixed with other things, so it is repacked for giving to the children. This is regularly tested and the supply and quality maintained for the last many years,” Sangma added.
He further said quality and quantity could have been an issue, but the state has already received its quota of rice for the first quarter of 2021-22 fiscal (April, May and June).
The Chief Minister urged the media and NGOs to get all the facts before coming out with “stories that only confuse the people” and could end up being an embarrassment for all.
He claimed everything is done is being done according to the rules and the quality norms set by the Centre.
The Chief Minister also said Continental Milkose has been supplying fortified foods to the state for more than 20 years.
Reacting to a query on why the SNP was not given to the self-help or women’s groups but was awarded to the manufacturers, Sangma referred to a notification issued in 2014 by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, advising state governments/UTs to get their nutritious food prepared or manufactured by only competent groups or entities.
“This guideline clearly stresses that the suppliers, be it self-help groups, mahila mandals, village committees or others, should be competent and capable groups or entities,” he added.
The company had come under scanner in 2012 when it was supplying items under the ICDS programme in Uttar Pradesh. The commissioners of the Supreme Court, after a writ petition against the Union Government, found large-scale mafia-like nexus among the contractor, manufacturer, bureaucrats and politicians in the supply items under the SNP of ICDS in Maharashtra, UP, Gujarat, Karnataka and some other states.
Meanwhile, Principal Secretary, Health, Sampath Kumar said the state is yet to receive any communication from Assam regarding the seizure of rice bags.
